


Tempering Hope

by SlowBurnJane



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Confessions of love, Everyone is tired, F/F, Kara finds out who’s still alive, Kara totally wants to use The Book of Destiny, Lena totally helps Ray because she’s a helpful genius, Light Smut, Nobody gets a nap, Supergirl (TV 2015) Season 5, a little fluff, crisis on infinite earths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:22:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22022515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlowBurnJane/pseuds/SlowBurnJane
Summary: Takes place between Crisis On Infinite Earths part 2 (Batwoman 1x09) and part 3 (The Flash 6x09) immediately after Kara leaves Kate after their talk over drinks.Monitor’s cosmic plan brings Lena to the Waverider to ensure the Paragon of Hope stays the course.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 23
Kudos: 445





	Tempering Hope

Kara strode down the corridor of the Waverider with purpose, determined to make the most of their current respite. Despite her half-hearted assurance to Kate, she knew if there was any possibility she could bring back Earth-38 or any of the other Earths lost, she had to at least try, risks be damned. There were so many lives lost already, the sheer number didn’t feel real. Faces of people she knew cycled through her mind on an endless loop and she was terrified to focus on a single one.

Kara had no idea if any of her loved ones were safe. She knew she could have asked Monitor when she had the chance earlier but the blow of her mother’s death, Oliver sacrificing himself for her and Barry, and seeing Lex Luthor alive and well again had been enough to push her fears down in order to search for the other Paragons. 

Now that she had a moment to think, Kara knew she should go and find out who of her loved ones survived the antimatter wave. 

She was exhausted. 

The entire day weighed on her, the adrenaline from the missions long gone. She hadn’t been able to get buzzed on the alcohol she had shared with Kate, but sunlight would at least help her relax.

Passing by the large room they were using as both a lab and a meeting space, Kara was relieved to find Ray still tweaking his Paragon detector. She noted that the large observation windows were dark.

“Hey, Ray, does this ship have another observation deck? I could use a solar charge and it doesn’t look like this side of the ship is going to be seeing the sun for a while.”

Ray looked up from his work. “Yeah, uh, just down that way, there’s a room on the left near the very end that has a couple of windows. You’ll just have to retract the shutters, the switch on the wall is pretty straight forward.”

“Thanks,” Kara smiled at him and turned to walk in the direction Ray had pointed to but paused and turned back.

“Um, one other thing. I want to find out if any of my family or friends made it aboard the ships during the evacuation of Earth-38. How do I…Where can I find Brainy or someone who would know?”

Ray looked thoughtful for a moment. “The increased levels of antimatter across the multiverse is causing havoc on comms but I believe Brainy managed to use his extrapolator to get back to the ship he used to evacuate your Earth before the anti-matter interfered. They’re trying to coordinate a system for the refugees to either disembark on Earth-1 or maintain the armada of ships as stations.”

Kara nodded solemnly. Figuring out what to do with three billion people was much more important at the moment. 

“Once Barry or Sara come back, they can probably take you down to Earth-1 to get an update.” he offered. 

“Thanks, I’ll, uh, leave you to it,” she said, heading off toward the observation deck. 

The room Ray directed her to was set up like a meeting room with several chairs surrounding a large table. Kara flipped the switches on the wall and watched as the shutters slid aside with a mechanical whirring sound. 

Although the sun in this Earth’s solar system was only partially in sight of the windows on this side of the ship, Kara could feel the solar energy begin to charge her cells, and a bit of the physical exhaustion she carried melted away. She made a mental note to show Kal this room when she saw him next. Kara knew he was tucked away with Lois somewhere on the ship resting and she couldn’t help but envy her cousin. He had his wife and son to comfort and take solace in right now. 

All Kara felt like she had right now was the weight of loss on her shoulders. 

She wanted so badly to fall apart in the comfort of someone she trusted and loved. She thought of Alex and hoped she was on one of the ships or down on Earth-1. Thinking of Alex made her think of Eliza and Kara’s heart clenched at the thought of losing another mother. 

How could life be so cruel to so many? It seemed for every catastrophic event they overcame, a greater crisis emerged to be dealt with. It shouldn’t be this way.

Kara shrugged out of her coat and dropped down onto one of the chairs nearest the windows with a sigh. 

As was usual when her mind was given time to drift, her thoughts turned to Lena. 

Without doubt, Kara knew Alex would have gone to Lena for help on configuring the trans matter portal to handle such a mass evacuation. It was Lena’s technology after all. Whether Lena had then allowed herself to be evacuated when so many people were left behind, Kara wasn’t so sure.

She hoped Lena’s heart still beat somewhere down on Earth-1 but, if it didn’t, if Lena was one of the over four billion souls they hadn’t been able to save, Kara was prepared to risk her life to fix it.

The billions of people that had perished on their Earth and countless others, they could all be brought back if she succeeded.

What good was being the Paragon of Hope without at least trying?

  
  
  


——

  
  


Lena watched the chaos around her as she scrolled through operational protocols on the screen in front of her. She had offered her help with coordinating the disembarkation of the spaceship but Brainy and Alex had assured her that she would be better utilized on the control bridge in the event a new crisis arose.

Where she normally would have offered resources to aid in any way possible, Lena was now faced with a startling reality where she had nothing but her intellect at her disposal. 

Earth was now gone and along with it her life’s work and resources. 

So many times Lena had wished for a clean slate, to be free from the taint of the Luthor name and now it hardly seemed real. 

Not that she wanted to stop and think about it on any level at the moment. It was much safer to peruse the ship’s considerable database of knowledge. Lena had always planned for an eventual foray into astronautics, she just hadn’t expected it to be for at least another five or six years. Now she wasn’t sure if there would even be a universe left in the next few days.

Only days ago Lena had been posed to prevent mankind from doing harm and now the follies of mankind seemed insignificant on such a multi-universal scale.

Lena looked up as she heard Alex bark out an order to someone across the bridge. 

Alex was the person the people on the ship were looking to for leadership. Lena knew her fate probably would have ended on their Earth had Alex not stayed to protect her while she configured the trans-matter portal and now she was only one of a handful of people Lena knew who were still alive.

As Lena watched the older Danvers sister, her thoughts drifted unbidden to Kara. 

Kara had to have been a huge part of the effort to keep the portal clear for the mass evacuation but Lena knew it would have been impossible to save everyone. The odds of all of the heroes making it off of their Earth alive were slim. Not with the antimatter wave hitting Earth before more people could be evacuated. There was a very real possibility Kara hadn’t made the jump to Earth-1 and the thought made her chest ache. She thought about asking Alex if she had heard anything yet.

A sudden flash of light on the bridge startled Lena out of her thoughts. An instant later a woman in a blue spacesuit stood in front of Lena, a grim expression adorning her face.

“Lena Luthor, my name is Harbinger. You are needed to-“ the woman paused, clutching her head in pain before continuing, “-You are needed to temper hope. I must take you to, to…” the woman groaned in pain, unable to finish. Lena looked from the woman to Alex, watching intently from across the room.

“Lena, go with her,” Alex urged, “She’s the one that brought us the heroes from within the multiverse. If she thinks you’re needed, go.”

Lena nodded quickly and reached forward to grasp the arm of the woman still clutching her head in pain. “Are you okay? Do you need-“

The woman straightened up with a grimace. “There’s no time to lose,” she said before everything went white.

In what seemed like an instant, Lena was looking around what appeared to be a medical bay. The woman, Harbinger, staggered over to the gurney in the middle of the room. 

“I couldn’t teleport you any further, Lena Luthor. The Paragon of Hope wains and must be tempered free of any influence but one. Go now, down the corridor to the right. When you find sunlight you’ll know what you must do.”

Lena looked at the woman, hesitant to leave her when she was clearly in some sort of medical crisis but the dire tone had her moving towards the corridor before she even realized it. She passed an open doorway to what looked like a laboratory but didn’t see sunlight so she kept walking until she came to the end of the corridor. Lena tried the door on the right side of the corridor and was met with the darkness of an unoccupied room. Turning, Lena strode across to the door on the left and heaved it open.

Bright sunlight streamed through observation windows on the outer wall, momentarily blinding Lena. Squinting, she held up her arm to block some of the light so she could let her eyes adjust. She heard a gasp from somewhere in front of her.

“Lena…” 

It was Kara. 

The woman had sent her to Kara.

Lena dropped her arm as her eyes adjusted to the room. Kara stood in front of her, an expression of utter disbelief written plainly on her face. Higher brain function seemed to leave her as she stood there trying to process a dozen different emotions at once. 

_ Kara was alive. Kara wasn’t dressed as Supergirl. Why wasn’t Supergirl needed right now? Why am I here? I’m so glad I’m here. What was I supposed to do again? I still love her... _

Lena stepped forward before she even realized what she was doing and Kara swept her up in a full body hug.

“I can’t...I can’t believe you’re here,” Kara whispered into her neck. 

Lena closed her eyes, tears already dampening her face as she clung to the familiarity of Kara’s strong embrace. 

“I’m so glad you’re alive,” Lena breathed into Kara’s hair. 

She wasn’t sure she was ever going to be able to let go of Kara. Lena felt safe for the first time since the apocalypse had begun, held securely by the only part of home she realized she had truly been missing.

It took several long moments before they loosened their hold enough to look at each other. Kara’s tear-filled eyes swept over her face as though she wasn’t sure Lena was real. “How are you here with me?” Kara asked, her voice warbling as a tear fell down her cheek. “I didn’t...I wasn’t sure if you, or any of the others had made it in time.”

Lena smiled sadly at the emotion in Kara’s words. “Before I was brought here I was on Brainy’s ship with Alex, Brainy,” Lena thought for a moment, “Nia, Kelly, and I’m pretty sure I saw J’onn at some point as well. I’m not sure about others, it’s been a bit chaotic.” 

She watched Kara sag in relief.

“Thank Rao. I was told only three billion citizens of Earth were successfully evacuated. We tried...we tried to keep the antimatter wave at bay but it...we couldn’t.”

Lena’s heart clenched at the look of devastation on Kara’s face. She knew that Kara never gave up on anything if she had the choice, no matter what the cost. As frustrating as that trait was when turned on Lena herself, deep down she knew it was one of the things she loved most about Kara.

She pulled Kara in and hugged her tightly. 

“I know you did everything you possibly could, Kara. Alex and J’onn and everyone that made it safely through the portal know you and the other heroes are the reason we’re still alive.”

Kara sniffled and heaved a ragged sigh Lena could feel against her chest.

“One of those heroes, Oliver, he sacrificed himself to keep the portal clear a few more moments before the wave hit. He...he died for me and for Barry, another hero you haven’t met.” Kara sniffled again, “The mantle has been passed to us and I don’t feel ready. None of this even feels real. I lost my mother today. Argo is gone.” Kara pulled back suddenly, “And Lex...Lex is alive, Lena.”

Lena could feel her blood run cold at Kara’s words. “How…”

“The omniscient being behind our efforts to save the multiverse, Monitor, brought him back to life shortly after you shot him. I tried to kill him but Monitor insisted that Lex had a role to play in defeating the Anti Monitor.”

“You...you tried to kill him?” Lena asked, taking a step back. 

Kara looked away for a moment before nodding. 

“I did. I didn’t even hesitate. I was about to use my heat vision before Monitor stopped me.”

Lena stared at Kara and let her words sink in. She waited for the familiar painful longing she usually felt for the brother she had once worshipped as a child, but it didn’t come. She supposed all loyalties had their breaking point. She could see Kara mistook her silence for anger and continued on.

“In the end it appears Monitor was right about Lex having a role to play in stopping the apocalypse but he stole the Book of Destiny and travelled throughout the multiverse killing off countless versions of Superman in the process,” Kara explained, anguish plain in her voice. “I’m sorry Lena, I know he’s your brother but I really want to fling him into the sun.”

Lena shook her head in confusion, ignoring Kara’s casual threat to kill her brother.

“Of all people, why Lex? Why can’t this omniscient being just fix what’s happening, and what’s Anti Monitor?”

Kara sighed and sat down onto a nearby chair gesturing for Lena to sit as well.

“Um, the guy talks in prophecies and riddles but I think the gist of it is that Monitor has been around since the dawn of time, along with some twisted bad version known as Anti Monitor. I guess Monitor can control matter and Anti Monitor controls antimatter,” Kara explained, “Monitor has been protecting the multiverse since, well, I guess forever, but Anti Monitor has started wiping out entire universes using antimatter and this crazy huge army of shadow demons.” 

Kara looked down at the floor for a long moment.

“It was the shadow demons we were fighting to protect the portal when Earth was being evacuated. They killed my friend Oliver.”

Lena winced in sympathy. She could see her friend’s death was weighing heavily on Kara. 

“Kara, if there’s some being wiping entire universes from existence, why does this Monitor figure, who alone sounds powerful enough to manipulate positive matter at will, believe a band of superheroes are going to be able to stop him?” 

Kara shrugged.

“I’m not sure, but Monitor tells us there are seven of us in the multiverse who are Paragons and the best chance of saving the remaining multiverse from Anti Monitor.” Kara explained. She leaned back in the chair looking more frustrated than Lena had ever seen her. “We haven’t found them all yet though. We’re four for seven at the moment.”

“The way you say ‘us’ is like you’re one of the paragons.” Lena mused.

Kara looked away from Lena to where the sunlight was slowly being lost to the rotation of the ship. “Yeah, according to whatever guide Monitor used, I’m apparently the Paragon of Hope.”

Lena frowned. 

_ Hope _

That Harbinger woman told her she needed to temper hope and led her straight to Kara. This couldn’t be a coincidence.

_ Hope wains _

“Supergirl is...was...the pillar of hope on our Earth,” Lena reasoned, “you’re certainly the most optimistic person I’ve ever known so he’s probably right.”

“It’s true, I usually am,” Kara agreed. “I think once you lose everything you’ve ever known you can’t help but see the positives where others cannot. Or, at least I used to feel that way,” Kara shrugged, “I’m not too sure now.” 

“I think there’s roughly three billion people who will need your guidance to find that kind of optimism in light of what’s happened.”

“I’m hoping this can all be reversed to be honest. I think it can be done. I just...I’m so tired. I think I need a nap first,” Kara admitted, scrubbing her face with her hands. “I came in here to solar charge but I feel like I’m going to need sleep before I do anything else. I got punched in the face with a fist full of kryptonite by a Batman-turned-serial killer a couple hours ago.”

Lena blinked, “That...seems too bizarre, even for Bruce Wayne.”

“Wait, what?” Kara sputtered, “You know Bruce Wayne is Batman?!”

Lena shrugged, looking down at the table.

“Yeah, of course I do. L-Corp does a lot of business with Wayne Enterprises. Or did, I suppose. His tech has always intrigued me but it’s fairly niche. The overlap between the Wayne Enterprise tech and the toys Batman has in his arsenal is pretty obvious.”

Kara gaped at Lena. “You figured out Bruce Wayne was Batman based on what tech his company developed but never figured out I was Supergirl?!”

Lena huffed and rolled her eyes. She could feel her face warm in embarrassment.

“That is completely different, Kara. It’s easy to be objective at a distance with no bias from emotional attachment or otherwise. That’s not to say I’m not furious with myself for not figuring it out, especially when it gave Lex an opportunity to humiliate me once again. He’s always been keen to prove his superior intellect over my own.”

Kara frowned. 

“I’m sorry, Lena. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“I think in light of the apocalypse in progress I’m going to give you a pass. Also, the last time I slept was in my own bed on our Earth so I think I would rather join you in a nap than fight about it.”

Kara nodded and stood up. Lena watched her gather her jacket and flip a switch on the wall that caused the shutters to close over the observation windows, following her to the door. 

“Ready?” Kara asked, holding the door open for her.

“I’ll be following your lead if you don’t mind. I was literally beamed onto this ship a few minutes before I found you so I have no idea where anything is.”

Kara looked at her, eyes wide, “That’s right! I’m so sorry. You’re obviously here for something important and I’ve just been venting about stupid things that aren’t as important as whatever it is you’re here for. Is there something I can do? Do you need help?” Kara started walking down the corridor and Lena had no choice but to follow, quickening her steps to keep up. 

“Ray is probably still in his lab, I could go get him. He’s super smart...probably almost as smart as you-“

Lena put up a hand on Kara’s arm to stop her. 

“Kara, stop. It’s you I’m here to see.”

“Me? But why? I-I mean I’m really glad you’re here. You actually have no idea how happy I am to see you, but I don’t understand why you’re here right now.”

“I don’t really understand either. A woman by the name of Harbinger told me I was needed here and it had to do with hope. That’s obviously you,” Lena said, gesturing to Kara.

Kara frowned but said nothing as she led them down another corridor. They didn’t see anyone else on their journey and Lena supposed the other heroes on the ship were resting while they had a respite. Before long Kara stopped and opened a door to a room that looked like someone’s personal quarters. Lena wondered if Kara knew who this room belonged to.

“Sara probably won’t be back for a while. She’s working on the prospect of bringing Oliver back to life on one of the other Earths. I think that’s going to take some time.” Kara perched on the edge of the bed and began removing her boots as if discussing resurrection was an everyday occurrence. At Lena’s lack of movement she looked up at her and then over to the other side of the bed, “Do you mind sharing the bed with me?”

Lena looked at Kara for a moment before walking around to the other side of the bed.

“Do you ever reach a point where you can’t even believe what’s possible in the realm of existence?” Lena asked. She climbed onto the bed and folded an arm under her head as she turned to face Kara. 

Kara watched her for a moment before laying down beside her.

“I’ve lost count of how many times I reached and exceeded that point in the past few years, to be honest. I find it’s easier to just...go with it. Thinking too hard on what’s actually happening would probably drive a person to insanity.”

Lena was quiet for a moment as she tried to imagine the prior crises Kara had been involved in but gave up almost immediately. It hurt to know that there was even more she hadn’t been privy to, but it was the knowledge that Kara could have been harmed or even killed in another realm that struck her the most. She never would have known what happened to her. The thought made Lena’s heart ache. 

Kara was probably right. Thinking too hard about any of it would probably drive her to madness. It certainly did put some things into perspective though.

“Can I tell you something?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

“Of course. Always.”

“I never told you, but I...I was in love with you. For almost as long as I’ve known you.”

A multitude of emotions crossed Kara’s face. Lena watched as blue eyes searched her own. 

“I don’t think I would have ever worked up the courage to tell you back on Earth,” Lena admitted, “but after what’s happened in the past couple of days and...and seeing you again, I thought you should know.”

It felt like an eternity before Kara spoke. 

“They’re smart.”

Lena frowned, thrown by Kara’s reponse. 

“What? What do you mean?”

Kara chuckled lowly and turned to look up at the ceiling. “Monitor and Harbinger...they know what I want to do and they’ve sent you to dissuade me from trying.”

“Okay, and what is it that you want to do?” Lena asked, puzzled.

“I want to use the Book of Destiny to bring back our universe.”

Lena blinked. That seemed like a reasonable goal. Certainly one she’d endeavor to achieve if given the opportunity. Surely it was conceivable if Kara had reason to believe it could be done?

Propping her head up on her arm, Lena hummed aloud as she thought back to what Kara had said about Lex using the Book of Destiny. 

“From what you spoke of it, this Book of Destiny has the ability to shape space and time at its will, so in theory that I’m still grasping to understand, it’s plausible?”

Kara nodded and shifted to mirror Lena. “I saw what it could do last year when a man named John Deegan used it to alter realities in an instant. His use of it practically drove him to madness but he was human. I believe I have the strength to use it without that happening.”

“Taking your word on that horrifying thought, I’m not seeing the problem then,” Lena said, still puzzled. “Once the apocalypse has been stopped and the threat of further annihilation is gone, why wouldn’t they want to bring back the universes that have been lost?”

Kara shook her head. “I’m not sure we can stop this apocalypse though.”

“You want to try to bring back our Earth  _ now _ ? While this is still happening?” Lena asked, incredulously. “Kara, what’s there to stop it from being wiped from existence again?”

“Lena, I have to try. What if we don’t get a chance later? What if there  _ is _ no ‘later’?”

The look on Kara’s face made Lena’s heart clench. She reached over to rest her hand on Kara’s arm and squeezed gently. This seemed to be what Harbinger had brought her here for.

“Kara, darling...I know what you must be feeling right now. You feel a sense of responsibility for the world you fought so hard to protect and you want to fix it in any way you can,” Lena affirmed gently. “I want you to be able to fix it too, Kara. I’ll gladly help you try, but I don’t think now is the time. If you’re one of the seven Paragons, that’s obviously for a higher purpose.”

Kara rolled onto her back and exhaled noisily. 

She was silent for nearly a minute before she turned her head toward Lena.

“Alright, fine. I feel completely useless just waiting around though.”

“I thought you wanted to take a nap?”

“Well yeah, aside from that. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep though.”

“Why not?”

“Because you just told me you were in love with me,” Kara explained. “My brain will be too busy replaying every moment of every encounter we’ve had for the past three years so I can properly obsess about the numerous times I could have told you the truth about my identity...and my feelings for you.” Kara looked over at Lena, “But you go ahead.”

Lena froze.

“Are you...are you kidding me?” 

“Uh, no? I mean, I know it’s too little, too late but since you shared with me, I thought I’d let you know that I felt the same way. Or, I guess in my case it’s ‘feel’ because my feelings haven’t changed, but I know I ruined everything, so…never mind.”

Lena looked down at the bedding, her mind valiantly trying to process this information.

Kara had feelings for her. 

Kara was  _ in love _ with her.

Lena snorted, “Well there’s no way I can sleep now.”

“I’m sorry. Do you want me to go?” Kara asked, frowning.

“No, and stop apologizing. What’s done is done. Besides,” Lena lifted her hand off the bed, “it hardly seems to matter now in light of the apocalypse.”

“It matters to me, Lena. Foolishly losing your trust is one of my biggest regrets.”

“Kara, stop,” Lena shuffled closer to Kara and re-settled her hand on her arm. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you again. Can we just focus on that? Can we just be ‘us’ again?”

Kara reached across her torso to grasp Lena’s hand in her own so she wouldn’t squish it before rolling onto her side once more. They were mere inches apart. Kara squeezed Lena’s hand gently as she held her gaze.

The look made Lena’s stomach flutter.

“Does being ‘us’ mean I have to lay here and only think best friend thoughts?” Kara asked, her mouth twitching with the hint of a smile. “I mean, that’s totally fine…it’s just...now that I know you used to feel the same way, it’s hard to not-“

“You can think whatever friendly thoughts you want,” Lena interrupted, “but I’m going to kiss you now if that’s okay.”

“That’s...that’s totally okay.” 

Lena smiled. “Okay then.”

Using the hand Kara was holding as leverage, Lena tipped forward and pressed her lips to Kara’s. Warmth flooded her chest at the contact as her head went fuzzy. Kara’s lips were so soft, softer than she thought the Girl of Steel would be but that was Kara - sweet and warm and so,  _ so _ giving.

Pulling back just enough to suck in a shaky breath, Lena kissed her again, harder, and felt her body ignite with desire. She felt Kara let go of her hand and a moment later it was brushing against her jaw, strong fingers sliding behind her neck to guide her closer. 

Lena felt like she was melting.

Several minutes were lost to exploring the taste and feel of Kara’s mouth as they mapped this newness between them. At some point her world tilted a little as Kara shifted forward, pressing Lena down onto the bed. Lena automatically reached up to ground herself, mussing Kara’s ponytail enough to thread her fingers through the blonde strands, and tugged her closer. 

Oh how often she had thought of running her hands through Kara’s carefully coiffed curls.

How she had survived three plus years in Kara’s presence without acting on this, Lena didn’t know. As tactile as Kara was, the full body hugs and gentle touches Lena had become accustomed to in Kara’s presence had nothing on the breath-stealing sensation of Kara’s tongue sliding against her own. There was a world of difference between Kara’s friendly affection and the way she licked into Lena’s mouth as though she had never craved anything more.

Kara’s hand migrated down the side of her neck to the collar of her blouse. Shivers ran up her spine at the feel of Kara’s fingers dragging the fabric away from her pale, overheated skin and a whine nearly tore from her chest when Kara’s lips travelled away from hers, open mouth kisses burning a trail down her throat to the newly exposed skin.

It had been a while since Lena had last had the pleasure of having someone in her bed, and longer still since she had felt this turned on. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew they probably didn’t have time to get too carried away, but oh, did she want to. Tugging on Kara’s hair to pull her back up to her mouth, Lena kissed her with fervor and Kara shifted more fully over her, breath hitching when a thigh made meaningful contact between her own. Vaguely she felt her chest lighten at the sound of fabric ripping between them and then Kara’s hand was inching its way under her untucked blouse.

“Holy shit!”

It took a minute to register that neither of them had spoken. Kara was the first to react, pivoting off of Lena so fast Lena’s fingers stung from the abrupt loss of Kara’s tangled hair. Sitting up, Lena shook out her hands as she focused on the cause of the interruption. 

A blonde woman in a white hero’s suit sauntered over to a storage unit by the wall, hands up in front of her.

“Sorry, sorry… pretend I’m not here. Please don’t stop the lady loving on my account. I have to say though, I never thought I’d see the day I could say I’ve had both Danvers sisters in my bed.”

Lena frowned and Kara scoffed. 

“You wish, Sara.”

Sara grinned, eyebrow raised. “In another time, most definitely. I’m happily taken these days though.”

“That someone must be pretty incredible to,” Kara lifted a hand to gesture vaguely, “handle you.”

Sara chuckled, “You have no idea.” Looking over to Lena, Sara threw a hand up in greeting. “You must be pretty incredible also to have gained the affection of Supergirl.”

“Sorry, Lena, this is Sara Lance. She’s the captain of the Legends and our Paragon of Destiny. The Legends do a lot of time traveling and bad guy wrangling. Sara, this is Lena Luthor. Lena is a genius several times over and has saved our Earth and my life more times than I can count.”

“Well, a pleasure to meet you, Lena. Any friend of Kara’s is a friend of mine.”

Lena tipped her head in acknowledgement. She found the woman to be intriguing. 

“Likewise. Paragon of Destiny, that’s no small achievement. You must be quite the..Legend.”

Sara grinned and winked at Lena. Kara cleared her throat awkwardly and rose from the bed. “We should go check in with Ray to see if he’s got the Paragon detector working,” she said, pulling her boots on.

“Alright, well I’m just going to grab a change of clothes and shower a resurrection off myself, but you two go ahead.”

Lena got up from the bed and slipped on her shoes to join Kara, adjusting her clothing as she edged by Sara. She frowned at how freely her blouse and vest were moving and looked down to see the collar to her blouse ripped clean to her right shoulder and her vest hanging loose from her shoulders, buttons missing. She raised an eyebrow at Kara who looked mortified.

“Oh my gosh, Lena, I am SO sorry!”

Sara chuckled as she walked by them both on the way to the bathroom, a change of clothing and a towel under her arm. “Supergirl’s a bodice ripper. That’s hot,” she teased and Lena smirked in amusement.

Kara glared at the bathroom door as it closed before her attention returned to Lena.

“I...I should have been more careful. I’m sorry.” Kara said. She looked down at her own clothing and swiftly shrugged out of her jacket. Tossing it on the bed she pulled her sweater up and over her head, quickly turning it right side out. “Here, you can wear mine,” she offered, holding the sweater out for Lena to take. 

Lena for her part stood stunned by the abrupt chivalry, eyes glued to the bare skin before her. Kara stood in a pale blue bra, nervously shifting side to side as she waited for Lena to take the sweater. Lena watched Kara’s toned abdomen flex as she shifted, only lifting her eyes up at the sound of Kara’s throat clearing.

Lena smirked at Kara before bringing her hands up to unbutton her blouse. “Just enjoying the view, darling.”

Kara blushed and politely averted her eyes as Lena dropped her ruined clothing on the bed. Reaching for the proffered sweater, Lena tugged on Kara’s hand to bring her focus back. 

“I really don’t mind you looking. After all, fair is fair,” Lena said, her smirk smoothing out into a fond smile. She watched as Kara’s eyes immediately dropped to her chest. Lena gave her a good long moment before she pulled Kara’s sweater on.

“Not that I’m complaining but what are you going to wear now?” Lena asked.

Kara smiled at her and ripped her glasses off, triggering her super suit to materialize.

“Ah, of course.”

Kara picked her jacket up off the bed and held it open for Lena to slip into. Lena turned and offered her a smile of gratitude, surprised to see a smug-looking smile adorning Kara’s face.

“What?”

“I just…I like seeing you in my clothes,” Kara admitted, tugging Lena forward a step by the lapels of the jacket. “Especially now. It’s...comforting.”

Lena grinned and leaned in to press her lips against Kara’s. “I agree. Now you just need to go and save the multiverse along with the other Paragons so we have other opportunities to do this,” she murmured against Kara’s mouth. Kara hummed as she reconnected their lips for a handful of sweet kisses.

“I look forward to that time. For now though,” Kara tipped her head toward the doorway, “We need to go check in.”

Kara took Lena’s hand and guided them through the ship and back to an area Lena had walked by when she first arrived on the ship. It reminded her of the control room at the DEO but without the wall of surveillance monitors or the dim lighting and from what she could see, nobody looked to be heavily armed. She supposed they didn’t need to be, being superheroes and all.

Lena felt Kara tug her gently in the direction of a tall, dark haired man crouched in front of computer equipment. 

“Hey Ray, any luck yet?” Kara called out as they approached. 

Ray finished his inspection of a bundle of wires before standing with a sigh. “Not really. I still can’t figure out why the signal isn’t transmitting beyond the Waverunner,” he said, perking up at the sight of Lena. “Hi, I don’t believe we’ve met.”

Kara squeezed Lena’s hand. “Ray, this is Lena Luthor. She’s a genius like you. Lena, this is Ray Palmer, a Legend on Sara’s team.”

Lena smiled at Ray and tilted her chin at the monitor beside him. “Do you mind if I take a look at the code?”

“Um, sure, go for it,” Ray said, surprised by the request but stepping back regardless. “Luthor, huh?” he asked watching Lena leave Kara’s side to examine the monitor.

Lena’s hands flew over the keyboard glancing at lines of code as they scrolled by. “I take it you’ve met my dear brother?”

“Yeah, he’s…something.”

“Lena is nothing like Lex,” Kara assured Ray. “Well, aside from the intelligence. That clearly runs in the family.”

“This code is fascinating,” Lena interrupted, brow furrowed in concentration. “This section here, is that the furthest parameter? It looks like it isn’t looping back around to complete the scan.”

Ray moved to look over her shoulder. “You’re right, it isn’t. I can’t believe I missed that.”

Lena shrugged and moved back to allow Ray to fix the code. “It’s easy to look at someone else’s work to find the bugs. It’s much harder to create the concept from scratch, which I must say is impressive.”

“Even so, thank you. It shouldn’t take long to compile once I fix this.”

A tingle of satisfaction ran through her as she stepped back to join a beaming Kara. It felt nice to feel useful again.

“Ms. Luthor, what an unexpected surprise.”

Both Lena and Kara turned at the voice and Lena noticed a few more people had gathered while she had been reviewing the code, only two of which she recognized.

“Mr. Kent, how...lovely...to see you again, though I admit the circumstances are less than desirable,” Lena said. She tipped her head to Lois, “Ms. Lane.”

Clark shot Kara an incredulous look. “Seriously, Kara?”

Kara threw her hands up in front of her in a placating gesture, “Hey, I was not the one who told her...though, I had been, um, wanting to...share that with her.”

“This feels super awkward to me. Is anyone else really uncomfortable?” A leather suited woman with a bat symbol on her chest asked the room.  _ Another bat-adorned vigilante? _ Lena wondered which Earth she had come from.

“Lex kindly clued me in to Kara’s true identity about six months ago. It wasn’t a far reach to connect the dots after that,” Lena explained with a shoulder shrug.

Clark looked like he wanted to say something but stayed silent. Lena felt Kara move closer to her side and she inwardly melted at the show of protection.

A figure adorned in elaborate gold armor materialized in front of the group. Startled, Lena leaned into Kara. Looking around she could see that she was the only one surprised by the arrival.

“Lena Luthor, I am surprised to see you still on this ship though I see you were successful in your mission,” the man said.

Lena frowned and shook her head. “I wasn’t aware my visit here had a time limit,” she said, puzzled. Looking over to Kara she saw her friend glaring at the man and she had a guess as to who he might be. “I’m assuming you’re Monitor?” She asked.

Monitor tipped his head in assent. “Harbinger was to bring you to here to speak to Kara Zor-El and then return you to Earth-1. It appears there may be an issue I will need to...resolve,” he said, his tone ominous.

“Well,” Lena hedged, “if I am to go back to Earth-1, I would like to see Lex first.”

“No, that cannot happen.”

“Why not?”

“Lex Luthor still has a role to play in defeating my adversary. I cannot risk you killing him again.” Monitor answered, his tone leaving little room for debate.

“Wait, Lena killed Lex?” Clark asked the room. Everyone ignored him.

“Are you kidding me? Hasn’t he done enough damage already?” Kara asked Monitor, outraged.

“It has already been written.”

“Well, what’s been written is stupid,” Kara spat, “Lena is smarter than Lex. As far as I’m concerned, you chose the wrong Luthor to help save the universe.”

Lena tugged on Kara’s bicep in an attempt to reel her in. As much as she loved Kara’s fierce loyalty, she knew them getting their way wasn’t in the cards this time.

“Kara, it’s fine,” she murmured and ran her hand up and down Kara’s arm in a soothing motion. 

She waited until Kara looked at her before flashing a mischievous smile. “If you do see him again, please be sure to update him on our...reconciliation. I’m sure he’d be thrilled to hear of it.”

A beat went by before a grin that couldn’t be called anything but satisfying spread across Kara’s face and a thrill raced through Lena at the sight. If she wasn’t going to be able to stay on the ship, at least she’d go knowing that Lex would be choking on his rage at the knowledge that his sister loved a Super.

Monitor watched the two women for a moment before speaking again. “J’onn J’onzz is on this ship. His Martian abilities have not been affected by the antimatter. He will take you back to Earth-1.”

Lena sighed and slid her hand down Kara’s arm to take her hand. “See me off?” she asked.

Kara squeezed Lena’s hand gently, a war of emotions crossing the Kryptonian’s face. “Of course,” she answered. Kara turned and stared hard around them in a slow, sweeping motion before stopping, her gaze on a far wall. Lena realized she was using her x-ray vision to locate J’onn.

She offered Ray a genuine goodbye which he returned and he thanked her again for her help. Casting a glance at the rest of the room, she simply tipped her head in acknowledgement before she and Kara were on their way to find J’onn.

A feeling of dread settled in her chest as they walked. These might be the very last moments she had with Kara. They were down to their last chance in the last surviving universe and Lena had to step aside to let the heroes - to let Kara - save all of existence. The thought of losing Kara now made her chest ache but that pain wouldn’t matter if they lost. Nothing of them would be left to mourn. Strangely that helped, to know that either Kara and the heroes succeeded and a future on their Earth or any Earth was possible, or they failed and all of them were just...gone.

Her thoughts slowed her to a stop near what looked to be a small storage bay. Kara thankfully noticed almost immediately and didn’t yank her arm off with her super strength.

“What is it?” Kara asked.

Lena looked at Kara in silence for a long moment, her eyes sweeping over her tenderly as she committed the sight of the beautiful Kryptonian to memory.

“I just...I know I was sent here on this ship to give you a pep talk about holding onto hope and staying the course, whatever that course is, but right now I’m grasping for my own reason to believe we’ll see each other again. I know I need to let you heroes do your thing and all but I honestly don’t remember feeling this scared about anything, ever. I’m scared we won’t get our chance, Kara. Whatever that chance looks like.”

Kara stepped close to Lena and pressed their joined hands to her chest. She used her other hand to cup the side of Lena’s face.

“I am going to do everything in my power to make sure we have that chance, Lena.  _ Everything _ . Even if it means possibly straying from Monitor’s plan. I can’t…I will not lose everyone I love a second time. I swear by Rao, Lena, we will have a future.”

Lena nodded and felt her eyes fill with tears.

“I’m sorry I treated you so unfairly, Kara.”

“You had every reason to.”

The tears spilled over and Lena felt Kara’s thumb brush them aside.

“No, not the way I did. I should have-“

Kara leaned in and kissed her, swallowing the rest of her apology. When Lena gave in and returned the kiss, Kara, seemingly satisfied that she wasn’t going to continue speaking, pulled back enough to look her in the eyes.

“No more apologizing,” Kara whispered.

Lena wasn’t sure she wanted to agree to that so readily but she supposed they did have other, more important things to worry about now.

“Okay. No more apologizing.”

Kara smiled at her and Lena made a conscious effort to bask in the sight. She wasn’t sure when Kara had become her own personal sun her world revolved around but she was more than fine with it.

Pressing forward, Lena eliminated the space between them, their lips reconnecting in a searing kiss. 

The hand held against Kara’s chest was reclaimed so she could wrap her arms around Kara’s shoulders, fingers curling tightly in the fabric of her cape. She felt a strong arm wrap around her waist melding them together from hips to head as they kissed desperately. This is what she would take with her to hold onto for however long it took the multiverse to be saved. Her hope would be held in this memory - the sweet taste of Kara’s soft lips, the breathy sounds that escaped her throat with every slant of their mouths, and the feeling of warmth and safety in the way Kara held her securely against her own body.

Gradually they slowed their kisses until their lips were simply brushing together as they caught their breath. She felt Kara stiffen slightly and then sigh.

“J’onn is waiting for you inside the bay,” Kara murmured against her lips.

Lena pulled back a little in surprise. “How do you...oh, the mind reading thing?”

“Well, I can hear that he’s there, but yeah, in times of crisis J’onn relaxes the control on his abilities in order to reach people who need help. In this case he would have already picked up a mental projection from Monitor as well as your own.” Kara explained.

“But not yours?” Lena asked, curious.

Kara shook her head. “No, Martian mind powers don’t work on Kryptonians.”

“A restriction I’m thankful for at least several times a week,” a voice said from behind them. Kara pulled away from Lena to face a smirking J’onn J’onzz.

“I can take Lena back to Earth-1 to where Alex, Brainy, and the others are when you’re ready,” he assured them, looking from Kara to Lena and then back to Kara, his expression softening. Lena could hazard a guess at just how much J’onn had picked up from her mind in the last few minutes. She hoped he wasn’t harboring any resentment toward her for how she had imprisoned his brother. She didn’t want to be teleported to and left in the middle of nowhere or something worse.

J’onn answered her as though she had spoken her thought aloud. “You don’t have to worry, Lena. I’m not going to harm you. My brother and I have reconciled in a way I never imagined possible and that is in part due to your actions. Your mental projections have also put my concerns at ease.”

Lena sighed, not exactly pleased her mind had been scanned by the Martian but she supposed J’onn’s opinion on her character would be worth more than her own word, especially where Alex and the others were concerned. 

“Thank you, J’onn.”

J’onn nodded. “I’ll give you two a moment,” he offered and walked back into the bay.

Kara turned toward her, her expression stoic, and Lena knew she was drawing on her Supergirl persona to appear calm and confident but her eyes betrayed her unease.

“I wish I were going with you, I want to see Alex and our friends,” Kara admitted.

Lena offered Kara a tender smile. “I wish you were too.”

“Please tell Alex I love her.”

“I will.”

They stood there stalling for a long moment, neither wanting to be the one to make the move toward goodbye, but finally Lena sighed.

“Come here,” she whispered, lifting her arms up and Kara melded to her immediately.

“I have faith that you’ll save the multiverse, Supergirl,” Lena whispered.

“We will,” Kara breathed into her neck. “One way or another we will stop this. I have hope.”

“You’re my hope. For now and the future. I love you, Kara. Please be safe.”

“I’ll do my best,” Kara promised. “I love you too, Lena. So, so much.”

They clung to each other for several long moments before finally parting.

Lena smiled at Kara and forced herself to step away toward the bay where J’onn was waiting. 

“I’m not saying goodbye. This isn’t goodbye. I’m just going to go, and you’re going to do your heroic stuff and I’ll see you later.”

Kara was smiling as she watched her walk away and nodded gamely, “Yep, you go take care of stuff with Alex and I’ll just wrap things up here. Just a normal day in the life…”

“See you later, Supergirl,” Lena said and turned away before she changed her mind. 

Kara would be fine. Somehow it would all work out like it always seemed to do. Some of them probably a little worse (or possibly a lot) for wear. 

They both had hope in a future. It was anyone’s guess as to what it would look like once everything settled but Lena knew as long as it involved her and Kara working towards another chance, she’d welcome whatever came their way.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
